As apparently required for all serious British actors, Carter got his start on the stage, appearing with several theater groups throughout the 1970s, eventually joining the National Theater in the late 1970s and the Royal Shakespeare Company in the 1980s. Downton Abbey’s future butler Mr. Carson went on to many roles in TV and film, including 1999’s Shakespeare in Love. Carter, who is married to British national treasure Imelda Staunton, was nominated for an Emmy for his work on Downton Abbey.